Finally found my HG!

**silverthread** · April 28th, 2013, 12:22 PM

I've been on a hiatus from LHC because nothing I tried seemed to work for more than one or two washes. Straight shampoo fried it, diluted shampoo fried it, CWC fried it. SLS-free shampoo, CO and WO left it lank and/or greasy. I thought I'd finally found what I was looking for with Kiss My Face Big Body shampoo and conditioner, but when the dew point got high, my hair frizzed out more than usual (maybe it was the aloe?). In fact, no matter what method I used, the Florida humidity made it look terrible most of the time. But those days of frustration are over (knock on wood)!

I have very fine, low porosity, 2a hair. It's not oily, and not dry. It's about APL. About 5 weeks ago, at my wit's end, I decided to try CO again, and found Suave Daily Clarifying Conditioner. I figured what the heck. The first time I tried it, it worked very well. My hair was clean but moisturized, and my wave looked decent. But I had too much shedding to be comfortable with it. It dawned on me, it may be because of the 7.0 pH. So, to 8 ounces of the conditioner, I added 1 tsp. of white vinegar, and shook it really well. It brought the pH to about 4.5. I tried it again, this time I had only a normal amount of shedding, and the results were still great.

This is what I've been doing. Soak hair well with warm water, squirt about 3 oz. of the conditioner/vinegar mixture right on my scalp and scrub with my finger pads well, then squish it through the length of my hair, and let it sit for 3 minutes. Rinse out for a very LONG time. Then pour a gallon of my special vinegar/ascorbic acid water rinse over my hair. Squeeze out some of the excess water, but not too much. Apply a pea size amount of Beautiful Curls leave-in conditioner to the length of my hair. Squeeze out most of the excess water, then cover my head with a Tshirt. When the drippy water is gone, remove T shirt and let air dry completely, before combing with a wide-tooth comb. This has worked consistently for almost 5 weeks. It's been high humidity, high dew point in my part of Florida for several weeks, and I've had practically frizz-free hair. The waves are bouncy and moisturized. I'm so happy!!

If the results start to go sour, I'll report back, but so far SOOOO good.

**PeacenQuietGal** · April 28th, 2013, 01:10 PM

Whoa, I'm impressed with your pH analysis! I've got some of that Suave Clarifying Conditioner in my shower now, and I like it, but you've inspired me to take it step further and find me some pH strips, wherever they may be found.
Do you know anything about water hardness vs. softness? I've been staying at my mom's, and noticed with her water, I am frizzier. Be interesting to know how it all ties together - product pH + water pH = perfect solution for minimizing frizz?

**PeacenQuietGal** · April 28th, 2013, 01:11 PM

Oops duplicate post.

**silverthread** · April 28th, 2013, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by PeacenQuietGal

Whoa, I'm impressed with your pH analysis! I've got some of that Suave Clarifying Conditioner in my shower now, and I like it, but you've inspired me to take it step further and find me some pH strips, wherever they may be found.
Do you know anything about water hardness vs. softness? I've been staying at my mom's, and noticed with her water, I am frizzier. Be interesting to know how it all ties together - product pH + water pH = perfect solution for minimizing frizz?

Yeah, I found the lower pH made my scalp not itch anymore either, which was an added bonus. I found my pH strips on Amazon.com. I got the full spectrum pH strips (14 gradients). I believe they were $11 for 100. My water here in west central Florida has a pH of about 8.0-8.5, which is very hard. I haven't done anything about the water coming out of my shower head, though I've heard there are attachments or filters you can buy to reduce the hardness. IDK. The hardness is why I follow my thorough rinse with a vinegar/ascorbic acid rinse. It's approx. 1 gal of water, with 3T of white vinegar, and 1/16th tsp of ascorbic acid. It brings the pH of the gal of water to about 5.5. Before using this mixture, I let it sit for 15 minutes, so that the vinegar can dissolve the minerals and the ascorbic acid can get rid of the chloramine in the water. I can't say for sure if it's the conditioner or the vinegar/ascorbic acid rinse that reduces the frizz. It may the combo. Good luck!

**earthnut** · April 28th, 2013, 02:56 PM

Interesting. I have very soft water and am very prone to frizz, and have tried vinegar rinses and still got frizz, but I may give your idea a shot none-the-less.

The only thing that consistently reduces frizz for me is leaving conditioner in my hair.

**Kaelee** · April 28th, 2013, 04:56 PM

It's really kind of odd that a pH of 7 would make you shed...pH of 7 is neutral and shouldn't do anything. Makes me wonder about the pH of your water.

**PeacenQuietGal** · April 28th, 2013, 06:52 PM

Amazon! That's good because I was about to order some castor oil from there too. Ladies, I think think this thread is going to lead me to a little breakthrough of my own. Thank you Silverthread! HG is "holy grail" right?

**Wildcat Diva** · April 28th, 2013, 06:59 PM

I'm also in a high humidity environment. I have been adding vinegar to my conditioner to dilute it too. I let it soak a few minutes then rinse it out. I usually suds up with a shampoo bar, then more conditioner and a diluted vinegar rinse. I'm glad
What you're doing is working out well.